Adoring Louis Claus
It is summer 2003 and teenage Carla, unhappy at home, loses herself instead in a relationship with classmate Louis Claus.
Fiction
Author
Valentijn Hoogenkamp
Original title
Het aanbidden van Louis Claus
She gets pregnant, and they lose touch after she has an abortion. Fifteen years later, Carla has lost her mother and is in a lesbian relationship when one day she runs into Louis Claus, they seek shelter from the rain and end up having sex. Once again, Carla seems to be running away from her problems by focusing on Louis.
Subtle and lyrical, Adoring Louis Claus interweaves the themes of sexuality, loneliness and grief.
“Being young, facing adversity, coming of age are the stuff of many literary debuts, but Hoogenkamp’s crackling style and impressive restraint put her head and shoulders above the rest.”
NRC Handelsblad
Valentijn Hoogenkamp
Valentijn Hoogenkamp (b. 1986) debuted in 2021 to great critical acclaim with the novel 'Het aanbidden van Louis Claus' (Adoring Louis Claus).